History

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

Before 1953, Walt Disney's productions were distributed by Winkler Pictures, Powers Pictures, Universal Pictures (Oswald shorts), Columbia Pictures (1930–1932), United Artists (1932–1937) and RKO Radio Pictures (1937–1953).[3] However, a dispute over the distribution of Disney's first full-length movie, The Living Desert, in the True-Life Adventures series of live-action documentary featurettes[3] in 1953 led to Walt and his older brother Roy O. Disney to form its wholly owned subsidiary, the Buena Vista Film Distribution Company, Inc. (BVDC), to handle North American distribution of their own products.[4] RKO refused to distribute the film.[3] The name "Buena Vista" came from the street in Burbank, California, where the Disney Studios was located (and remains to this day). Buena Vista's first release was the Academy Award–winning live-action feature The Living Desert on November 10, 1953, along with Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom, Buena Vista's first animated release.[5] Notable subsequent releases include the foreign film, Yang Kwei Fei (Most Noble Lady), released in US theaters in September 1956,[6][7]The Missouri Traveler in March 1958,[5] and The Big Fisherman in July 1959 (the first third-party production financed by Disney).[5]

In April 1960, the company dropped "Film" from its name.[8] In 1961, Disney incorporated Buena Vista International (BVI),[9] distributing its first PG rated film, Take Down, in January 1979.[5] The low-budget movie was not produced by the Disney studios and was acquired from an independent studio, making The Black Hole the first PG-rated Disney film.[10] In July 1987, Buena Vista changed its name to Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc. (BVPD).[8]

Late in the 1980s, Disney purchased a controlling stake in one of Pacific Theatres' chain[11] leading to Disney's Buena Vista Theaters and Pacific to renovate the El Capitan Theatre and the Crest by 1989.[12] The Crest was finished first while El Capitan opened with the premiere of The Rocketeer film on June 19, 1991.[13]

In 1992, Buena Vista made production loans totaling $5.6 million to Cinergi Pictures for its film Medicine Man and its 1994 films Renaissance Man and Color of Night and were distributing Cinergi's films. The corporation purchased a 12.8% share in Cinergi with its initial public offering in 1994.[14] Soon, BVPD signed a 25 picture distribution deal with Cinergi.[15][16]

The Gaumont Film Company and Disney formed Gaumont Buena Vista International, a joint venture in French distribution, in 1993.[17] In August 1996, Disney and Tokuma Shoten Publishing agreed that Disney would distribute internationally Studio Ghibli animated films.[18] In September 1996, following Disney's acquisition of Capital Cities/ABC, Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc. was merged[8] into ABC, Inc.,[19] the parent company of that group.

By 1997, BVPD's share in Cinergi dropped to 5%. After nine films were delivered under the agreement, Cinergi sold Disney on all of its 12 film library except for Die Hard with a Vengeance plus $20 million in exchange for Disney' Cinergi share holdings, production advances of $35.4 million and other loans.[15][16]

Since 2004, BVI and Gaumont dissolved their French distribution joint venture, Gaumont Buena Vista International.[17] Buena Vista International agreed to a distribution deal with MegaStar Joint Venture Company Limited in April 2006 for the Vietnam market.[24]

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

In April 2007, Disney discontinued the usage of the Buena Vista brand in its distribution branding.[4] In 2009, Disney entered a distribution agreement with a reorganized DreamWorks; the deal called for an estimated 30 films over a five-year period from DreamWorks and they would be released through the Touchstone Pictures label.[25] The distribution deal ended in 2016, after DreamWorks and Disney decided to not renew their agreement in December 2015, with Universal replacing Disney as DreamWorks' distributor.[26][27] By the end of the deal, Disney had distributed 14 of DreamWorks' original 30-picture agreement.[28][29] Disney took complete ownership of the DreamWorks II film library in exchange for loans made to that company.[30]

In October 2017, it was announced that the Buena Vista International banner will be revived by Disney in 2019 for distribution of M. Night Shyamalan's Glass, a sequel to his earlier films Unbreakable (distributed by Touchstone) and Split (distributed by Universal). Through an arrangement made with Disney, Universal will retain domestic rights to the film, while Disney (through Buena Vista International, due to the film's intense content) will distribute in international territories.[31]

Distribution

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures has released the most films that have crossed the $1-billion-mark (fourteen, in worldwide grosses)[32] among major Hollywood studios, with nine of the twenty highest-grossing films of all time being distributed by Disney.[33] In addition, Disney is the first of only three studios that have released at least two billion-dollar films in the same year (the others being Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures).[34][35][36] Furthermore, Disney is the only studio that has achieved this four times, in 2010, 2013, 2015, and 2016—that latter year of which included four $1 billion releases, a record for any studio. Four of the top five highest-grossing animated films have been released by Disney, as well as sixteen of the twenty highest-grossing G-rated films.[37] In addition, four of the top-five opening weekends were Disney releases.[38] In 2015, Disney achieved its largest yearly box-office gross worldwide and in North America.[39][40] In 2016, Disney surpassed $7 billion in worldwide yearly box-office gross—the first of any major studio—surpassing the previous 2015 record.[41]

International arrangements

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International was formed in 1961 as Buena Vista International, which is the owner of Disney Channel Southeast Asia.[5] In 1992, Disney opted to end a previous joint venture with Warner Bros., that began in 1988 to distribute their films in overseas markets (UK, Ireland, Benelux & Scandinavia). In those territories from 1993–2007, Disney reactivated the Buena Vista International name, and also sent distribution under it in countries that did not have any current arrangements with other companies. Distribution rights in West Germany were given to MGM (under CIC in the early 1970s) and later to 20th Century Fox before the Warner Bros. joint venture. In Russia and CIS, Mexico, Brazil, Thailand, Greece, Singapore and the Philippines, Disney films had been distributed in a joint venture with Sony Pictures Entertainment.[44] In Japan, distribution rights are handled in partnership with Toho.